Re The Joint Provisional Liquidators of Moody Technology Holdings Ltd (滿地科技股份有限公司) (in Provisional Liquidation for Restructuring Purposes)
Read the full judgment text of HCMP 2271/2019 on BabelCite. This High Court CFI judgment was delivered on 12 March 2020.
1. On 10 December 2019, the Joint and Several Liquidators (the “JPLs”) of Moody Technology Holdings Limited (the “Company”) appointed by the Order of the Supreme Court of Bermuda (the “Bermuda Court”) dated 24 October 2019, by an Ex Parte Originating Summons, applied to this Court for the recognition of their appointment and their powers as set out in the Letter of Request issued by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Bermuda dated 20 November 2019.
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HCMP 2271/2019 [2020] HKCFI 416 IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE MISCELLANEOUS PROCEEDINGS NO 2271 OF 2019 __________________________
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________________________________ REASONS FOR DECISION ________________________________ Application 1.On 10 December 2019, the Joint and Several Liquidators (the “JPLs”) of Moody Technology Holdings Limited (the “Company”) appointed by the Order of the Supreme Court of Bermuda (the “Bermuda Court”) dated 24 October 2019, by an Ex Parte Originating Summons, applied to this Court for the recognition of their appointment and their powers as set out in the Letter of Request issued by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Bermuda dated 20 November 2019. Background and Procedural History 2.The Company is a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands on 29 April 2013. On 23 May 2019, the Company changed its domicile to Bermuda, and it now continues as an exempted company under the laws of Bermuda. 3.The Company is listed on the Main Board of Hong Kong Stock Exchange (“HKSE”) with stock code 1400 since 25 April 2014, and it is a China-based investment holding company principally engaged in manufacturing and sales of fabrics and yarns, which also engages in shoes and clothes trading. 4.On 29 September 2019, a winding up petition was presented against the Company in Hong Kong by Mr Su Dajie, the Petitioner in HCCW No.283 of 2019 (the “Petition”) on the ground that the Company has failed and refused to settle a debt due to the Petitioner in the sum of HK$2,890,247.13. 5.On 10 October 2019, the Company presented a winding up petition against itself to the Supreme Court of Bermuda (the “Bermuda Petition”). 6.On 15 October 2019, the Company made an application for the appointment of joint and several provisional liquidators on a “light touch” basis for restructuring purposes. 7.On 20 November 2019, the Chief Justice of the Bermuda Court made an Order (the “Letter of Request Order”) that a Letter of Request directed to the Hong Kong Court seeking its assistance and recognition of the appointment of the JPLs in aid of the Bermuda Court proceedings be issued (the “Letter of Request”). 8.Mr Tai for the JPLs drew this Court’s attention to the details of the restructuring proposal and submitted that judicial assistance and recognition should be given pursuant to the Letter of Request. 9.As a recognition order by this Court would inevitably affect the interest of the Petitioner, the supporting creditor and the Company, I directed that notice be given to parties to the Petition. At the hearing on 24 January 2020, both the Petitioner and the supporting creditor, Mr Wang Zhiyong, through their solicitors’ letters, informed this Court that they adopt a neutral stance to the recognition application. 10.It is clear that the JPLs are attempting to restructure the Company and its debts in Bermuda. The question is whether Hong Kong Courts should give recognition to the same when it entails a moratorium. Further, under our current law, provisional liquidators cannot be appointed for the sole purpose of propounding a scheme of arrangement. (See Re Legend International Resorts Ltd [2006] 2 HKLRD 192) Legal Analysis 11.In Re Joint Provisional Liquidators of Hsin Chong Group Holdings Ltd [2019] HKCFI 805, Harris J recognised provisional liquidators appointed in Bermuda on a soft-touch basis and granted restructuring powers to the provisional liquidators by way of common law assistance. 12.Mr Justice Harris recognised and assisted the Bermuda soft-touch provisional liquidators even though the Hong Kong Court could not appoint provisional liquidators solely for the purpose of enabling a corporate rescue to take place. At §9, the learned Judge said:
What is soft-touch provisional liquidation? 13.As the High Court of the British Virgin Islands (“BVI”) explained in Re Constellation Overseas Ltd (5 February 2019) at §3 per Adderley J:
14.However, because of the Court of Appeal decision in Re Legend International Resorts Ltd (supra), soft-touch provisional liquidation is at present impermissible in Hong Kong. 15.In this regard, the present Hong Kong position is an uncommon and peculiar one in the common law world. As the authorities reviewed in Re Constellation Overseas Ltd show, soft-touch provisional liquidation is consistent with the insolvency legislation in England, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and BVI, which is in pari materia with section 193 of the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap 32) (“Ordinance”). Indeed soft-touch provisional liquidation is commonplace in offshore jurisdictions. What is ‘recognition’ and ‘assistance’ in the context of cross-border insolvency? 16.In Re Da Yu Financial Holdings Ltd [2019] HKCFI 2531 at §§ 49-50, I explained the notion of recognition in the context of cross-border insolvency thus:
17.Recognition carries with it the active assistance of the recognising Court (Singularis Holdings Ltd v PricewaterhouseCoopers [2014] UKPC 36; [2015] AC 1675 at §19 per Lord Sumption). 18.In Re CEFC Shanghai International Group Limited [2020] HKCFI 167 at §§10-11, Harris J explained the notion of cross-border assistance as follows:
19.However, it is important to note that despite obtaining recognition and assistance from Hong Kong Courts, the foreign officeholders will not be acting as, acting in the capacity of, or having the status of officeholders appointed by Hong Kong Courts in a domestic insolvency. 20.In this regard, the English Court of Appeal decision in Candey Ltd v Crumpler [2020] EWCA Civ 26 is instructive. The material facts for present purposes are these. In February 2016, the BVI court wound up a BVI incorporated company and appointed liquidators. Shortly afterwards, the BVI liquidators obtained recognition and assistance from the English court under the Cross-Border Insolvency Regulations 2006 (“CBIR”) which implemented the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency in Great Britain. 21.On behalf of the company, the BVI liquidators engaged in litigation in England with the company’s former solicitors (“Candey”) in respect of Candey’s unpaid fees. The proceedings commenced by the BVI liquidators against Candey included applications to seek directions under Article 21(1)(g) of Schedule 1 to CBIR and/or section 168(3) of the UK Insolvency Act 1986. Article 21(1)(g) of Schedule 1 to CBIR permits the English court to grant “any additional relief that may be available to a British insolvency officeholder under the law of Great Britain”. Section 168(3) of the UK Insolvency Act 1986 is in pari materia with section 200(3) of the Ordinance. 22.To participate in the litigation, Candey entered into a conditional fee agreement (“CFA”) with its solicitors which required Candey to pay a success fee to its solicitors. 23.As the BVI liquidators lost some of the proceedings they issued and were ordered to pay some of Candey’s legal costs, the issue was whether the BVI liquidators could be required to pay the success fee which Candey had to pay its solicitors under the CFA. Section 44 of the UK Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 prevents a court from making a costs order which requires the payment by one party of a success fee payable by another party under a conditional fee agreement unless the relevant proceedings are “proceedings in England and Wales brought by a person acting in the capacity of a liquidator of a company which is being wound up in England and Wales” (Article 4(c)(i) of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (Commencement No. 5 and Saving Provision) Order 2013 (SI 2013/77)). 24.Therefore, the issue before the court turned on whether, in issuing applications for directions under Article 21(1)(g) of Schedule 1 to CBIR and/or section 168(3) of the UK Insolvency Act 1986, the BVI liquidators were acting in the capacity of a liquidator of a company which is being wound up in England and Wales (“English Liquidator”). 25.The English Court of Appeal concluded that the BVI liquidators were not acting in the capacity of an English liquidator and reasoned as follows (at §§18-23 per Rose LJ):
26.While Candey Ltd v Crumpler concerns recognition of foreign officeholders under CBIR, the reasoning above applies mutatis mutandis to the effect of common law recognition of foreign officeholders. In particular:
27.Therefore, foreign provisional liquidators recognised in Hong Kong will not be acting as, acting in the capacity of, or having the status of provisional liquidators appointed by Hong Kong Courts. It follows that the fact that Hong Kong Courts may not appoint domestic soft-touch provisional liquidators cannot constitute a bar to recognising and assisting foreign soft-touch provisional liquidators. 28.To say that recognising foreign soft-touch provisional liquidators would be to bypass and circumvent the Hong Kong domestic provisional liquidation regime would be to misunderstand the true notion of recognition. Universalism mandates the recognition of foreign soft-touch provisional liquidators 29.It is well established that the rationale underlying the common law power of assistance is modified universalism (eg Re Joint Liquidators of Supreme Tycoon Ltd [2018] HKCFI 277; [2018] 1 HKLRD 1120 at §12 per Harris J). 30.Applying the universalism rationale, the authorities show that, in order to be eligible for recognition, a foreign insolvency proceeding needs to meet the following criteria (eg Re CEFC Shanghai International Group Limited [2020] HKCFI 167 at §8 per Harris J):
31.The eligibility criteria do not require the foreign insolvency proceeding to be capable of being opened in Hong Kong. 32.To add an eligibility criterion that there must be complete identity between Hong Kong insolvency law and foreign insolvency law would be to undermine the universalism rationale. 33.Indeed, one commentator has expressed the logical conclusion of universalism thus:
34.Copious authorities bear out the above proposition. 35.In Tacon v Nautilus Trust Company Limited [2007] JRC 107, the Royal Court of Jersey recognised a provisional liquidator appointed by the BVI court even though Jersey law did not have a provisional liquidation procedure. The Royal Court of Jersey made these pertinent remarks (§§26 and 37):
36.In the United Kingdom, there is no debtor-in-possession regime like the United States Chapter 11 regime. But in Banque Indosuez SA v Ferromet Resources Inc [1993] BCLC 112, the English court was prepared to assist the operation of Chapter 11 proceedings. Hoffmann J (at pp. 117-118) said:
37.These authorities amply confirm that cross-border recognition premised on universalism does not require foreign insolvency law and local insolvency law to be identical twins. In this case, failing to recognise foreign soft-touch provisional liquidation just because Hong Kong domestic law contains no such regime would be to fail to appreciate, adhere to, and apply the universalism rationale. Recognising foreign soft-touch provisional liquidation is consistent with Hong Kong private international law and cross-border insolvency policy 38.While soft-touch provisional liquidation is per se impermissible in Hong Kong, “[i]t is well established that where the circumstances warrant the appointment of provisional liquidators, the provisional liquidators may be granted powers to explore and facilitate a restructuring of the company” (Re China Solar Energy Holdings Ltd (No 2) [2018] HKCFI 555; [2018] 2 HKLRD 338 at §26 per Harris J). 39.Therefore, soft-touch provisional liquidation and Hong Kong provisional liquidation differ only on the scope of the provisional liquidators’ powers; they differ only in degree, not in kind. Both are species of collective insolvency proceedings. This is borne out by the US Bankruptcy Court’s remarks on the function of typical soft-touch provisional liquidators as follows:
40.In these circumstances, recognising and assisting foreign soft-touch provisional liquidation can hardly be described as contrary to Hong Kong insolvency policy. 41.What is more, refusing to recognise foreign soft-touch provisional liquidation on the basis that Hong Kong domestic law does not have soft-touch provisional liquidation will create discriminatory consequences which have been rejected by authorities. For example, it is well established that if a foreign officeholder is recognised one would normally expect assistance, which may extend to granting orders that give the foreign officeholder substantially similar powers to, for example, investigate the affairs of the company as would be available to a local liquidator if the foreign jurisdiction has similar provisions in its insolvency regime (Re China Fishery Group Ltd [2019] HKCFI 174; [2019] 1 HKLRD 875 at §26 per Harris J). 42.Provisional liquidators often have the same need to investigate the debtor’s affairs, whether or not they were appointed on a soft-touch basis. If the Hong Kong Court refuses to assist foreign provisional liquidators simply on the basis that they were appointed on a soft-touch basis, it would constitute an unwarranted discrimination. 43.This is demonstrated in Re Joint Liquidators of Supreme Tycoon Ltd [2018] HKCFI 277; [2018] 1 HKLRD 1120 which held that a BVI voluntary liquidation is eligible for recognition in Hong Kong. In the course of his Lordship’s reasoning, Harris J (at §16) approved the following proposition in Look Chan Ho, Cross-Border Insolvency: Principles and Practice (Sweet & Maxwell, 2016), p. 230:
44.In other words, Supreme Tycoon stands for the proposition that, in determining whether recognition and assistance should be granted to foreign officeholders, Hong Kong Courts would not countenance any discrimination based on the mode of their appointment abroad. Just as it would be wrong to discriminate against foreign officeholders appointed out-of-court, so it would be wrong to discriminate against foreign provisional liquidators appointed on a soft-touch basis. 45.A potential criticism premised on legal consistency is this: Hong Kong domestic insolvency law does not permit the appointment of provisional liquidators for the sole purpose of granting them restructuring powers, but Hong Kong cross-border insolvency law permits the recognition of foreign provisional liquidators for the sole purpose of granting them restructuring powers. A vivid example is Re Z-Obee Holdings Ltd [2018] 1 HKLRD 165. Thus, so the criticism goes, Hong Kong cross-border insolvency law simply circumvents and bypasses the restrictions on provisional liquidator’s powers under Hong Kong domestic insolvency law. 46.In my view, on proper analysis, there is nothing in this criticism. In recognising foreign provisional liquidators appointed in the company’s country of incorporation and granting them restructuring powers, Hong Kong Court is merely recognising the provisional liquidators’ status as agents of the company, and giving effect to their management and governance powers under the law of the company’s incorporation (Re Z-Obee Holdings Ltd [2018] 1 HKLRD 165 at §13 per Harris J). This is orthodox and well established. As pointed out by Lord Sumption in Singularis Holdings Ltd v PricewaterhouseCoopers [2014] UKPC 36; [2015] AC 1675 at §12:
47.Therefore, with or without getting a technical recognition order in Hong Kong, foreign provisional liquidators – as agents and managers of the foreign company – may promulfate a restructuring scheme of arrangement in Hong Kong. See, for example, Re LDK Solar Co Ltd [2015] 1 HKLRD 458 and Re China Lumena New Materials Corp [2020] HKCFI 338. Recognising and assisting foreign soft-touch provisional liquidators is thus to a large extent merely applying orthodox principles of private international law. Hence, there is no conceptual or legal inconsistency at all. 48.It follows that recognising and assisting foreign soft-touch provisional liquidators are fully consistent with Hong Kong private international law and cross-border insolvency policy. Failing to do so would create a discriminatory environment which would be unjust, unprincipled, and unsupported by authorities. 49.Whilst our insolvency, in particular, corporate rescue regime is in need of reform for many years, there is no legitimate reason, policy or otherwise, why Hong Kong Courts should not recognise foreign provisional liquidators appointed on a soft-touch basis. 50.Hence, I am of the view that Harris J’s statements of the law in Re Joint Provisional Liquidators of Hsin Chong Group Holdings Ltd (supra) are correct and sound. Disposition 51.For all the reasons stated above, a recognition order, with limited powers, as revised during the hearing, was granted. 52.Finally, it remains for me to thank Mr Tai for his very helpful assistance to this Court.
Mr Terrence Tai, instructed by Winston & Strawn, for the Applicants Ms Jennifer Li, of Robertsons, for the Respondent in HCCW 283/2019 Attendance of the Petitioner in HCCW 283/2019 represented by C&T Legal LLP was excused The Supporting Creditor in HCCW 283/2019 represented by Yung Yu Yuen & Co. was absent |
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